This chapter describes the perspectives and experiences of school-aged children in foster care as a result of parental methamphetamine misuse. Children reported exposure not only to their parents' ...
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This chapter describes the perspectives and experiences of school-aged children in foster care as a result of parental methamphetamine misuse. Children reported exposure not only to their parents' and non-kin adults' methamphetamine and other substance misuse, but to a constellation of activities related to drug use or drug-seeking behavior including violence within their homes and other criminal behavior. Children responded to the contexts in which they were reared in a variety of ways including accepting or actively resisting socialization messages that normalized substance misuse. The majority of children described involvement with law enforcement and child welfare as a “sad” and “scary” time in their families. Far from embracing their placement in safe and stable families, many children continued to express sadness, distress, and resistance to legal and child welfare interventions even after months in foster care. Implications for facilitating the adjustment of children to foster care and beyond are discussed, including providing foster parents with support and information about the contexts in which children have been reared, and children's understanding of those contexts in order that they may interpret and respond to challenges that may emerge.Less

Children’s Experiences and Perspectives

Wendy HaightTeresa OstlerJames BlackLinda Kingery

Published in print: 2008-11-19

This chapter describes the perspectives and experiences of school-aged children in foster care as a result of parental methamphetamine misuse. Children reported exposure not only to their parents' and non-kin adults' methamphetamine and other substance misuse, but to a constellation of activities related to drug use or drug-seeking behavior including violence within their homes and other criminal behavior. Children responded to the contexts in which they were reared in a variety of ways including accepting or actively resisting socialization messages that normalized substance misuse. The majority of children described involvement with law enforcement and child welfare as a “sad” and “scary” time in their families. Far from embracing their placement in safe and stable families, many children continued to express sadness, distress, and resistance to legal and child welfare interventions even after months in foster care. Implications for facilitating the adjustment of children to foster care and beyond are discussed, including providing foster parents with support and information about the contexts in which children have been reared, and children's understanding of those contexts in order that they may interpret and respond to challenges that may emerge.

The past twenty-five years have witnessed a revolution in the science of addiction, yet we still rely upon sorely outdated methods of treatment. Expensive new programs for managing addiction are also ...
More

The past twenty-five years have witnessed a revolution in the science of addiction, yet we still rely upon sorely outdated methods of treatment. Expensive new programs for managing addiction are also flourishing, but since they are not based in science, they offer little benefit to people who cannot afford to lose money or faith in their recovery. Clarifying the cutting-edge science of addiction, this book pairs stories of real patients with explanations of key concepts relating to their illness. A police chief who disappears on the job illustrates the process through which a drug can trigger the brain circuits mediating relapse. One person's effort to find a burrito shack in a foreign city illuminates the reward prediction error signaled by the brain chemical dopamine. With these examples and more, this volume paints a vivid, relatable portrait of drug seeking, escalation, and other aspects of addiction and suggests science-based treatments that promise to improve troubling relapse rates.Less

The Thirteenth Step : Addiction in the Age of Brain Science

Markus Heilig

Published in print: 2015-05-12

The past twenty-five years have witnessed a revolution in the science of addiction, yet we still rely upon sorely outdated methods of treatment. Expensive new programs for managing addiction are also flourishing, but since they are not based in science, they offer little benefit to people who cannot afford to lose money or faith in their recovery. Clarifying the cutting-edge science of addiction, this book pairs stories of real patients with explanations of key concepts relating to their illness. A police chief who disappears on the job illustrates the process through which a drug can trigger the brain circuits mediating relapse. One person's effort to find a burrito shack in a foreign city illuminates the reward prediction error signaled by the brain chemical dopamine. With these examples and more, this volume paints a vivid, relatable portrait of drug seeking, escalation, and other aspects of addiction and suggests science-based treatments that promise to improve troubling relapse rates.

This chapter begins by discussing the common elements of effective treatments for addiction. First, they all specifically focus on drug seeking and taking. Second, methods that focus on practicing ...
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This chapter begins by discussing the common elements of effective treatments for addiction. First, they all specifically focus on drug seeking and taking. Second, methods that focus on practicing changing specific behaviors do a better job than methods that talk about these behaviors, try to dissect intrapsychic conflicts thought to underlie them, or apply other complicated psychological constructs. The chapter then considers techniques to manage withdrawal and initiate abstinence, and argues that safely and humanely detoxifying people and initiating abstinence makes sense only if accompanied by a well thought out, long-term plan for managing addiction. It sets out steps that patients can take to deal with relapse. It also considers the recent wave of psychological approaches broadly covered by the umbrella term of “mindfulness” or “third-wave cognitive behavioral therapies”.Less

Please Behave

Markus Heilig

Published in print: 2015-05-12

This chapter begins by discussing the common elements of effective treatments for addiction. First, they all specifically focus on drug seeking and taking. Second, methods that focus on practicing changing specific behaviors do a better job than methods that talk about these behaviors, try to dissect intrapsychic conflicts thought to underlie them, or apply other complicated psychological constructs. The chapter then considers techniques to manage withdrawal and initiate abstinence, and argues that safely and humanely detoxifying people and initiating abstinence makes sense only if accompanied by a well thought out, long-term plan for managing addiction. It sets out steps that patients can take to deal with relapse. It also considers the recent wave of psychological approaches broadly covered by the umbrella term of “mindfulness” or “third-wave cognitive behavioral therapies”.